Necklace-clasp.



H. BLANK.

NECKLACE CLASP.

APPLICATION man SEPT. 11. 1911.

1,156,267. Ptend 001. 12, 1915.

INVENTOR.

pnrrin sra'rns ramena ermee.,

HENRY BLANK, OF GLEN RIDGE, NEV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO WHITESIDE CGBPORATIQN OF NEW JERSEY. y

BLANK, A

NECKLACE-CLASE.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Paeeateaoet.' ie, 1915.

Application-filed September 11, 191.1. Serial No. 648,653.

17 'o all whom t may Cof/cern Y Be itknown that I, Irl-ENR?! BLANK, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Glen` such as would cause the necklace to fall offV and perhaps be lost; to provide a construction which is of neat and pleasing appearance, and lends itself to ornamentation; to provide. such a clasp which can be easily and conveniently opened and. closed when desired, without the use of keys or the like and without delay, and to obtain other acl-- vantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals of reference indicate the same parts throughout the several figures, Figure 1 is a face view of a clasp of my improved construction, on an enlarged scale; Fig.V 2 is an edge view with the two members separated or released from each other; Fig. 3 is a back view of the clasp with its 'members apart; Fig. l is a view of the face plate, detached, and Fig. 5 is a central longitudinal section of the same', Fig. G is a back view of the body of the clasp, by itself, and Fig. 7 is a central longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 8 is a View of the back plate, detached, and Fig. V9 is a central longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 10 is a cross sectionv of the female clasp members, taken on line A-A, Fig. 3, and looking in the direction indicated by the arrow. l

In said drawings, 1 indicates the female member of the clasp, and 2 indicates the male member, said members being adapted to engage at their adjacent ends, as hereinafter described, and having at their opposite ends eyes or rings 3 and 4,' respectively, to engage or receive the ends of a necklace (not shown). I have shown the clasp in an oval or elliptical shape, but obviously this could be varied as taste or fancy might suggest.

The female member 1 is of boXlike character and comprises a front plate 5, back plate 6 and intermediate body 7, all secured firmly together as by soldering. The front plate 5 is of the shape which is to be given to the clasp, oval or elliptical in the present case, and isornamented at its face in any desired manner, as by setting a stone 8 therein.

kThe body 7 consists of a plate 9 which is of the same shape as the front plate 5 and seunredatwise thereagainst, anda peripheral flange 10 projecting from the opposite side of said'plate 9 to form a cavity or chamber to receive the male member 2. At the end of the female member which engages with the male member,the flange 10 is cut away sufficiently to admit said male member, as shown in the drawings, and preferably the plate 9 of the bodyV 7 has apertures 11,12

for the passage of light and forV convenience in manufacture or assembling the parts of the clasp. The back plate 6 lies upon the flange-10 of the body 7, and conforms in A shape to the shape'of the clasp, forming with said body a chamber or socket for the male member 2.

Said male member comprises a flattened piece of metal having at one end the eye l, and having lateral tongues 13, 13 which eX- tend backward toward Vsaid eye 1 from the opposite end of the member and have a resiliency edgewise of said member, normallystanding outward awayl from the maink portion of said member at a slight yangle thereto. Said tongues 13 have notches 14: in

their outer edges and near their extremities,-

which notches receive the inturned ends of the ange 10 ofthe body portion when the male member is forced inward therebetween, as will be understood. The extremities `of said tongues form finger pieces 15, 15 for compressing the tongues to release the inem-y bers of the clasp from each other. It is the purpose of my' invention to secure said male member in the female member and prevent their disengagement by inadvertent release of the resilient tongues 13, 13, and to this end a lock bar 16 is fitted into a slot 17 in the back plate 6 narrower than the male'member 2, said lock bar being pivoted at one end and having at its other end a pin or projection 18 adapted to enter a seat or perforation 19 in the male member .when the two members of the clasp are in engaged relation. .Said lock bar is preferably of substantially the same thickness as the back plate 6, so as to lie flush therewith, and has a small fingerpiece 2O for disengagement. The pin or projection 18 preferably passes through the male member and engages the plate 9 of the female member as a stop.

The lock bar 16 is preferably pivoted by means of an eye 21 at the inner side of its end, which eye receives a pin 22 extending through the flange 10 of the body 7 at its opposite sides, small pieces of hollow wire 23, 23 being placed upon the pin 22 between the eye 21 and the flange 10 at opposite sides of the body 7, to hold said eye central.

The back plate 6 preferably has light apertures 2l, 9A- on opposite sides of the slot 17.

To disengage the members of my improved clasp, the lock bar 16 is swung open, as shown in Fig. 2, by means of the lingerpiece 20, which withdraws the projection 18 from` the perforation 19 in the male member and allows said male member t0 be separated from the female member upon compressing the tongues 13, 13 by means of the finger-pieces 15 to disengage their recesses 14: from the ends of the flange. 10. To lock the two members together, the male member is simply pushed into the female member,

l the outer edges of the tongues 13, 13 bearing against the ends of the flange 10 and compressing said tongues until the recesses 11i are reached, when the tongues spi-ing outward and the members are engaged. The lock bar 1G is then pressed into closed position in the slot 17, flush with the back plate 6, its projection 1S entering the perforation 19 of the male member and preventing any possible withdrawal of said male member from the chamber of the female member, even though the tongues 13 should be disengaged. The tight iit of the lock bar 16 in its slot 17 and of the projection 18 in its perforation holds the lock bar against inadvertent opening.

t will be noted that the lock bar 16 by engagement of its pin 18 with the perforation 19 of the male member not only prevents separation of the male and female members, but also prevents edgewise displacement of the body portion of the male member, with respect to the female member, in the plane of said body portion and the resilient tongues 13. This secures maximum engagement of both tongues with the female member, and prevents any possibility of the body portion of the male member being crowded edgewise against one of the resilient tongues sufficiently for inadvertent disengagement of the other tongue. rlhe lock member thus insures a better and firmer connection of the male and female members, and yet it is operated to release said members independently of their operation, so that either can be operated first in opening the clasp.

Various modifications in the construction of details may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and do not wish to be understood as limiting myself eX- cept as set forth in the following claim when construed in the light of the prior art.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

In a clasp, the combination vof a female member comprising a socket with opposite lateral interior projections therein, a male member adapted to enter said socket and having a body portion with opposite lateral resilient tongues adapted to normally engage said projections and be released therefrom by compression toward said body por-V HENRY BLANK.

llVitnesses CORNELIUS, Znnnisnin, E. MCELVERY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, '.D. C. 

